"Yongguk."
"..."
"Why don't you say anything to me? I'm stuck in here with someone I could at least pass time with by talking to and it'd be less insufferable but you don't. Why?"
"Not my job. I'm just here to keep an eye on you."
I let out a dramatic groan. "I don't think your boss would be upset if you made small talk with me."
"I have my own reasons. It's not just him."
"Does my voice annoy you or something, so much so that you'd rather not hear me talk? I know sign language."
I sign, "Will you talk to me now."
"Heheh."
He smiled, and he even chuckled; how out of character. That was almost adorable.
He signs, "It is not your voice, believe me. It sounds fine."
That's surprising! I never would have guessed he could understand that. "Oh, you know sign language? Where'd you learn that?"
"I had a deaf friend growing up so I learned a little bit, kinda rusty though."
"Interesting. How old were you?"
He sighs, looks up as he tries to remember, as though the answer is written on the ceiling. "I knew him throughout my childhood, probably from the age of six until high school. We didn't have friends; kids wouldn't talk to him because they couldn't sign and as you've noticed I'm not the talkative type. When I was young I had a bad stuttering problem for many years and had a hard time talking, so I didn't like to. Hell, it still happens sometimes if I'm irritated or talk too quickly."
"So you went through all the trouble of learning sign language to make a friend? But you just said you don't like talking."
He signs, "It's not really talking, now is it?" He sighs again as he thinks for a moment. "To me it was easier, I didn't have to worry about stuttering or sounding stupid. Over time I found it wasn't as shallow either. You have to put effort into signing, it's not the same as people who ramble on just to avoid awkward silence. Silence for him was okay, that's how he lived and I didn't mind that. It's not like we never laughed or played, we were normal."
"That's very sweet. What happened to him?"
"Well, he finished high school, went to a university, but I'm not sure what he's doing now. We grew apart when we were about 16 or 17 years old, I fell in with a bad crowd and he wasn't going to follow me."
"Was it Youngjae?"
"Oh no, he would have been about 12 at that time. Actually it was his older brother who used to be in charge."
"What happened to him? Why isn't he in charge now?"
"Not too long ago he was killed."
"That would explain why Youngjae is so sensitive to all this. He isn't used to it."
"What are you talking about? Everything about him is perfect for running this. His brother had a temper, he didn't think before he acted and that's a big part of why he was killed. Youngjae is indifferent to all of this; he isn't affected by the things we do. He's very intelligent, thinks everything through, and is always a step ahead of our competition. This gang is running better than ever."
This is weird. The Youngjae I'm seeing is far from indifferent and unaffected.
"Anyway, I gotta ask. Was it that bad talking to me?"
"No. It was actually a little refreshing having someone interested in hearing what I have to say, even if it isn't much. It's been a long time since I talked about something besides a job or new information on our competition." His slight smile fades. "But even then, people don't really want to listen to me."
"Why don't people want to listen to you?"
He shifts in his chair and irritation seems to wash over him. "Since the day this gang first started I've always been in charge of muscle. I've never been one for coming up with strategies and plans, I've always just been told where to go and who to take down." He seems more agitated as he continues, "P-people just assume I'm a moron because of that though!" He clenches his fist and let's it swing down forcibly, hitting the metal door he's sitting in front of. "Just because I'm not a damn tactician doesn't mean I'm fu-fuckin stupid!"
I sit quietly, and calmly respond, "You don't seem stupid at all to me. You're definitely strong though; so maybe they're just intimidated by you."
He scoffs, "Yeah, maybe. Or maybe they just don't think I'm intelligent enough to string together a coherent sentence so they don't bother trying to talk to me." He slouches back in his chair as if he's out of energy and looks towards the floor. "It's been like that for so long that I just don't care enough to fight it. People have either thought I was stupid because of the way I talk or stupid because I'm just used for my strength. It doesn't matter anymore, I just let them think whatever they want and keep my mouth shut."
"I'm sorry they do that, but I hope that won't keep you from talking to me while I'm here."
"..."
"You know you really are interesting. I can tell you like to talk considering how much you just told me."
"I dunno. You're just really easy to talk to, you're actually listening and asking questions. I guess I took advantage of that for a moment."
"I'm glad you feel you can talk to me, because you deserve to be listened to Yongguk."
"If you say so."
I have a feeling it's going to be a while before we talk again, but that's a start.